Orbea 6 Hr MTB race Sunday 15th June
My first MTB win of the season – what a day!
Last year I couldnt race the 6hr MTB race as I broke my toe only 2 days before the event, so this year I was pretty excited to get to the start line with out any problems.
I am sure most people remember the day – it started raining at about 7am and didnt stop well maybe 30min of the 6hr race, and the track was so muddy and wet by then that it didnt really matter.
Each lap was approx 12.5km long and was in a figure 8 style, it included some really nice single track, some sweet downhill, muddy rocky sections, open fire road, log overs, jumps and mud baths! so basically the perfect MTB course.
The 70 solo riders headed off 2min ahead of the team riders and had a nice clear track, it wasnt too churned up, but after approx 300 riders had made their way around the course it made each lap slightly harder. By lap 6 I knew I wasnt going to make any more than 8 in the 6hours so I just got through the last 2 laps – I was pretty much over it – the rain anyway! I like every other rider had basically worn through my brake pads and had most of the Jarradale mud and dirt on my bike, jersey and knicks.
All in all I was happy and relieved to have won in such testing conditions.
Tim and Clive Jones managed an exceptional win to take out the 2 man team and overall in 9 nine laps in a little under 5hr 30min!
Congratulations to all those who finished 
RESULTS
TIM - 4th Annaconda Enduro, Alice Spring
TIM – 2nd Dirtworks 100km MTB
JO – Ironman Australia 6th place Pro female
TIM - Otway Odyssey 6th place Pro Male
JO – Ironman New Zealand, 7th Pro Female
TIM – Karapoti Classic, 7th place pro male
JO – Geelong half Ironman, 10th Feb – 6th place pro women
3rd April 2008
6th place finish IRONMAN OZ
10th Ironman race!
W ell my 10th Ironman finish was not as great as I expected. I was running in 3rd position for most of the marathon, until I was down to a walk jog and finished in 6th place. I had been having some hamstring issues leading into the race, just before IMNZ and during the 5week block between Ironmans I wasnt able to run without a walk involved. So going into this Ironman I wasnt super confident with my form but I really wanted to finish this race. Pre race I was fortunate to do a press conference and meet World Champ Chrissie Wellington (what an amazing athlete, and great person) and also race with her and Kate Major, so overall I had a great time and learnt alot racing these world class athletes. Port Mac is a fabulous place, and I urge anyone even thinking about heading over next April to book your flights! The course is reasonably tough – well the bike course anyway. The swim is held in the marina, so the first few hundred metres are pretty tight with competitors and boats, but then it spreads out a bit (only a bit!) the bike course is hilly and the roads are pretty rough. I wore a pair of bike nicks over my race suit, to make the ride more comfortable (I totally recommend this) there is a stretch of 10km road heading out to Lake Cathie which is flat (the only section in the race) but the course is amazing, very spectacular if you have time to have a look around. The marathon this year was shortened to a 3 lap course, which I prefer as there are more spectator viewing points and it makes the run go reasonably quick (if your having a good run that is) but overall it is a fantastic spot for an Ironman – I will be booking my flights for next year.
I am going to have a week or 2 off and let my hamstring recover now, I plan on racing the half in a team then get my running back on track leading up to Ironman Lake Placid in July.
Good luck to those racing the half – I will see you there!
